Ineffective performances on third down doomed Penn State’s offense against Ohio State on Nov. 2, contributing significantly to the Nittany Lions’ lone loss of the year on a big stage at home.
Better managing third downs, and benefiting from the ripple effect of doing so, became a priority heading into last weekend’s game vs. Washington.
In the aftermath of their 35-6 win that featured a 10-of-13 performance on third down, the No. 4 Nittany Lions clearly succeeded in addressing that facet of their attack.
“It comes down to being in advantage as an offense,” quarterback Drew Allar said. “We were in third-and-controllable, third-and-manageable, I feel like, the whole game. Maybe there was one or two third-and-longs, but other than that, it was all third-and-4-to-6. If we’re able to get in that range, we’ll be successful just because of the game plan we have. I thought we did a good job of getting first downs on first and second down.”
To be sure, Washington is not Ohio State. Yet the Huskies arrived in State College with the nation’s second-ranked pass defense.
Penn State’s third-down struggles (3 of 11) did not totally account for the offense’s inability to score a touchdown vs. the Buckeyes, but converting 77% of its opportunities vs. the Huskies definitely paid dividends.
“We had a ton of respect for them coming into the game,” coach James Franklin said. “But, again, I think the answer is what I’ve been talking about all year long: When we can be better on third down, it’s going to create more plays, it’s going to create more opportunities to score, it’s going to create more opportunities for touches, it’s going to create more opportunities for explosive plays. Chuck it down the field.”
The Nittany Lions’ third-down success is the highest conversion rate so far in Big Ten play.
Only against Kent State (8 of 10) was Penn State better on third down, and that was a game the Nittany Lions won 56-0.
For Franklin, the simple increased offensive play count borne from being effective on third down was key.
That was evident in the first half, when Penn State (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) embarked on drives of nine, 14, eight and nine plays, all of which resulted in touchdowns to build a 28-0 lead.
“Every time you’re successful on third down, you have a chance for at least three more plays,” Franklin said. “When you’re 7 of 7 on third down in the first half, that’s going to lead to good offense and that’s going to lead to more touches and more opportunities for different guys.”
Penn State’s entire offense benefited from the extended drives.
The receiving corps had a resurgent performance, with six players logging a catch and Tyler Warren, Harrison Wallace III and Liam Clifford all making grabs of 20 or more yards.
On the ground, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen got into a rhythm, as did freshman Corey Smith, who in his first taste of collegiate action and second career handoff, ran for a 78-yard gain.
“I think it comes down to number of plays,” Allar said. “The last drive I was in (in the fourth quarter) was a 16-play drive. If you have 16 opportunities to call play on a drive, a lot of people are going to get to touch the ball. That goes for the rest of our drives, too. We had a couple nine-play drives in the first half that resulted in scoring touchdowns. We were staying ahead of the sticks (and) staying on time in the pass game.”
On deck for Penn State this week is a woeful Purdue (1-8, 0-6) squad, which occupies last place in the Big Ten.
Reflective of the Boilermakers’ team struggles is a defensive third-down conversion rate of 46.8%, which ranks 124th out of 134 FBS programs.
The Nittany Lions hope that weakness plays into their hands and overall game plan.
“We want to get as many guys touches as possible,” Franklin said. “How do you do that? You be better on third down.”
Note: Penn State’s Nov. 23 away game at Minnesota has been scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised by CBS.